We have to admit that our concentration span is getting shorter and shorter nowadays. In the old days, we were more than happy to spend a couple of hours watching a TV drama and wait for another week for the next episode. We were also happy to spend half a day watching a baseball or football game. But now we are more used to the fast flood of information, and everything shown on the screen should be within a minute and we can skip with a simple fingertip.
While one thing most charming about sports games is that it can help the spectators divert from their routine and indulge in a world full of passion and motions, the global and gradual change of human being’s concentration span does pose the same challenge onto sports as it does on all genres of entertainment that demand concentration. The best example? The size of ball and rim changed over the years in NBA. Efficiency and accuracy of technical elements aside, the changes were also made for the sake of more goals, more fun, more popularity.
The Shorter, Faster, Smaller… The Better!
Rugby 7s has become the most spectacular sport in Hong Kong for multiple reasons. One crucial one – the shorter wait! Each half of a rugby 7s match is 7min long, so together with the 1min half-time break, you’d see all the actions AND results in just 15 minutes. Then you can move on to the next game, or the Netflix drama series you haven’t finished yet.
Event to Watch: Hong Kong Sevens, 5-7 Apr 2024
Lacrosse 6s (Sixes) will make its Olympic debut in the LA 2028. It was created in 2018 to accelerate global growth, and reduce cost and complexity of participation and event staging for the “fastest sport on two feet”. The team size reduced from 12 to 6 players, and each quarter of running time changed from 15mins to 8mins. Fast, faster and still the same adrenaline and excitement!
Event to Watch: Super Sixes – Hong Kong, 29-31 Dec 2023
Baseball5 may surprise you with-OUT the bat! The WBSC introduced Baseball5 in 2017, a new 5 v 5 game that only needs one rubber ball to play, on any surface, indoors or outdoors, comparing to the normal 9 v 9 baseball game that lasts 3-4hrs and needs a large pitch to play. It not only requires a smaller venue and less time in game and setup, but is inclusive for people of any age, gender and physical activity level and great for promotion in the community.
Event to Watch: WBSC Baseball5 World Cup, mid-2024
So the future of sports is not only about easy to play and watch, or all the fun and sportainment condensed into minutes. That’s about the higher accessibility to holistic wellness, passion, and people connection.
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